Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Bummer Day...

today started out fine, decent weather, day off, etc., but when i jumped into my beat-up, rusty, ugly but always faithful little pickup and drove to the local supermarket (about 4 miles from my house), it refused to start for the drive home.

it tried, the starter solenoid clicked, the headlights worked, but the battery just didn't have the juice to get the motor running.

three kind strangers offered their help, and their car batteries' current to help me and my groceries get home. and all to no avail. one guy even happened to have a spare battery cable terminal (my negative was loose, and not able to be tightened any more) and even put in on the cable for me.

and each time that these kind people jump-started my truck, after i thanked them profusely for their trouble and they drove away, the engine died, and wouldn't restart. i finally ended up calling my step-dad, and he gave me and my dinner a ride home.

two hours spent in a supermarket parking lot, looking at 50 to 80 bucks for a new battery (the one in my truck is a 60 month battery installed in August 2000...guess that just might be the problem..:p) and hoping that i don't need a new alternator.

the truck is still there, until tomorrow when i can get the battery and put it in, and drive it home. then test the alternator...

on top of that, i scanned the headlines and couldn't find anything funny to report to my loyal readers.

Ahhh, The Weekend Is Over! or, Headline News Resumes!

while most Americans view Memorial Day Weekend as a time to have fun with your families, and remember the sacrifices of our fallen soldiers in many different wars, in the restaurant industry it means that Tourist Season has officially begun.

why do they call it Tourist Season and not issue tags? c'mon, just three a year....no does...

aw, heck. nothing i can do about it, so i might as well just get over it and give my attention to all those headlines that are just crying out for the funny.

Sunday, May 29, 2005

Rough Weekend...

Memorial Day weekend is one of the busiest times of the year in the restaurant biz.

tonight, the little restaurant that i work for had it's busiest night in it's history (ok,the restaurant has been operating for only 6 years, but history is history!) and i'm exhausted.

one hundred and seventy-eight people enjoyed my best efforts at culinary excellence tonight, and not a complaint was heard.

fortunately for me, we hire deaf waitresses.

no, really! two of our waitstaff are hearing impaired, but not totally deaf. sometimes i make jokes at the expense of other's dignity, but in this case, both of the aforementioned waitresses would laugh if they would ever decide to join the 21st century and buy computers so they could read this joke.

Friday, May 27, 2005

I'm A Large Mammal Now!

and i'm not talking about my waistline...but i guess i qualify there, too!

no, i'm talking about my status in the TTLB Ecosystem...i devolved from a Marsupial back to a Rodent a few days ago (GRRR! oops, i meant SQUEEEEEK!), so imagine my surprise when i woke up today to find that i was now a Mammal! only two words can describe my feelings...

WOO-HOO!

is that considered two words, or does the hyphen make it one word?

ah, heck. who cares.

well, now i'd like to thank everyone that has helped me achieve my new status. and a few deserve extra-special thanks, for getting me going in this blogging thing, and keeping me going even when nobody else seems to care (or at least leave a comment to let me know that they care...)

y'all showed me that anyone and everyone can be a blogger, mostly by getting up and doing it yourselves, and having a lot of fun and entertaining me while you're doing your stuff. i got a lot of confidence from that, and have tried to model my style to be a reflection of the two of you.

and an extra round of thanks to basil for all the help with the technical problems, and for all the publicity he gave me as a newbie blogger.

next are phin and Tom, two bloggers that were willing to share their HTML knowledge with me (as in phin's coding for the seven sacred war phrases and Tom's referral to an online HTML tutorial). plus, they were among the first commentors on my humble blog. you guys ROCK!

and still do, when they can take time from their busy lives to actually sit down for a bit, relax, and read a blog or two. thanks for everything you've done to make me feel at home in this big, new world!

next, is my baseball nemesis, William Teach. a Dodgers fan, but underneath that vileness, a good man. loves baseball, the American Flag, and Star Wars too. with all that on his side, i can't fault him for picking the wrong team...:)

oddybobo definitely deserves a cheer from me, not only commenting on my site in the early days, but also giving up her Grammy's (Halmoni's) Kimchi recipe to somebody that would appreciate it. and i do.

last, but definitely not least, are the two bloggers that i have been giving publicity to lately on my humble site. Moe and Dane. they laugh at my stuff, i laugh at theirs, i promote them, they promote me.

ain't that what this whole thing is all about?

and, to everyone that has me linked but i didn't mention tonight, thank you. thank you very much.

I'm Back!

between enjoying a beautiful day here in N. CA, Blogger problems, and catching the late showing of "Revenge Of The Sith", i was a bit worn out and just not in the blogging mood.

re: Star Wars III: if you haven't seen it yet, definitely do so. way better than I and II.

so what's up with the Ecosystem? two days ago i was a Marsupial, well on my way to Mammalhood. last night, i devolved back to a Rodent, while others, like Moe suddenly triple their inbound links and rocket from Rodent to Mammal overnight. when i click on my status display, it takes me to the Bear's site, but calls me "Blogger:404 - page not found", asks me if this is my weblog, and if so click here to learn how to show your status, etc., and when i click, i get this:

i've also noticed that another Blogger user, Ogre, is listed as a 404 - page not found also.

on a happier note, the Giants beat the Dodgers last night, increasing their winning streak to 3, and not a small amount of confidence was gained by the team last night, as the Dodgers seem to be the biggest pain in the Giants' collective pinkytoe this season. hope that they can do it again tonight.

hope to have some funny up later, possibly after the Giants game. most of my regular viewers will most likely be in bed by then, but you'll have something to snicker over while enjoying your morning cup o' puppy coffee.

Giants Actually Won!

twice in a row, even!

now, if they can just put one more "w" in a row, they can get their website back!

heh! i crack myself up, sometimes.

the Giants won 3-2 against the Oakland Athletics Saturday, 3-1 against the Athletics on Sunday. i'd like to see a few more runs scored for SF in the next series against the Dodgers starting on Tuesday. As all Giants fans know by now, there is no such thing as a comfortable lead, especially against LA.

To all My Loyal Fans...

he asked me to guest-host at his site while he is away, but i'm sure that you know that already, since everyone that doesn't arrive here via basil's site eventually stops by via Moe or Dane.

it's kinda nice to play in a Primate's house, if only for a weekend...

UPDATE

Typepad is experiencing some problems at this time. i am unable to login. fortunately, i thought ahead (as per recommendations from my blog-dad) and saved the headline post in a notepad file. i hope to post it there, just for the thrill of posting my stuff on a blog that is in the top 100, but if all else fails, my loyal readers, i will have to resort to posting it here.

or, maybe i'll post it on both blogs....just to make sure someone reads it!

Tough Time To Be A Giants Fan

Giants lost again tonight. 9-4 against (gag! choke!)Colorado.

Noah Lowry gave up 7 earned runs, Michael Tucker was called out when a batted ball came about 6 inches from actually hitting him while on the basepaths, and just generally lackluster play from most of the SF team all added to the misery.

the most embarrassing moment came, in the bottom of the 8th, when a routine fly ball was hit to Pedro Feliz in left field. in and right back out of his glove. uh, Pedro, you gotta squeeze it.....fortunately, the runner on second was held at third, so no insult was added to the injury.

as if any was needed.

well tomorrow is a whole new game. let's hope it turns out a little better.

Giants Win!

now they're back to .500 with a 6-3 win over the Astros. still in 4th place in the division, however. as bad as the Rockies are playing, i don't think that we have much chance of being cellar-dwellers any time soon.

but, i have been a Giants fan for many years, and i know all too well that anything can happen.

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

I'm a Marsupial Now!

so that's why i felt so bad when i ran over that possum on the way home from work! it all makes sense now....

just kidding. i swerved and missed it completely.

thanks to all who have enjoyed my stuff enough to blogroll me, and also to those who didn't like my stuff for not insulting me and making me roll up into a quivering, pathetic ball underneath my computer desk.

Jury Duty

so, i drag myself out of bed at 8:00 am, after having slept only about 3 hours. insomnia, you know. shave, shower, etc, drive to the courthouse just before 9:00 am, groggy, grumpy, and ready to convict whatever poor bastard they put in front of me just so i can go back home.

go through the juror check-in, and am told to come back at 10:00 am, while the judge and attorneys finish some preliminary work. ok, i have time to get a cup of coffee, try to wake up a little. drink coffee, return to courthouse a little before 10.

and wait. and wait. and wait. 60 or so prospective jurors crowded into the lobby of our little courthouse, all getting more and more restless by the minute.

finally, after about 45 minutes of waiting, the doors open, and the bailiff tells all jurors to enter the courtroom and have a seat. we do so.

the judge waits till all are seated, and thanks us for showing up. he informs us that, ironically, this is National Juror Appreciation Week. we all laugh.

he then informs us that he is not our town's regular judge, that he drove over from the county seat to hear this case. unfortunately, he did not give the full 10 days notice required by law that it would be he, and not the regular judge, that would be hearing the case. he was disqualified from the trial, and we were all sent home.

all that for nothing, unless you count the fact that we all got credit for having served our jury time.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

Sorry, No Headlines Tonight

i won't be doing headlines tonight. i have jury duty tomorrow morning.

i work nights. i'm also an insomniac, so i'm usually up into the wee hours of the morning scouring the news sources for funny headlines.

tomorrow i have to be up, and in the courthouse at 9:00 am sharp. that means i'll have to do a shot of Nyquil to try to get some sleep so i can wake up when my alarm goes off. not sleep through it, like i sometimes do when i am forced to get up early...

plus, i also have to be mentally alert in case i am chosen to sit on the jury, wouldn't want to convict an innocent person, or let a guilty person go free just 'cause i was too groggy to pay attention.

Giants News

two in a row! Giants win 2-1 against Pittsburgh, Tomko threw a complete game retiring the last 21 batters he faced, and all was over and in the history books in 2 hours and a few minutes. shortest game in the history of SBC/Pac Bell Park.

i said last night that i wanted to report more Giants victories. tonight, i got my wish.

GO GIANTS!

Cool New Game

just pick a good new blogger, who has been blogging for less than 3 months, write a quick little post about him or her, and then track the post back to Teach. then you must go visit his site to find out what to do next.....

i'll pick Dane from Dane Bramage. Funny guy, but with a serious side too.

also, i have been blogging for less than 3 months, but if you're reading this post then you've already given me some traffic....

Sunday, May 08, 2005

Giants Win In Extra Innings!

4-3 in the home half of the 13th, off a double by Vizquel. for a 38 year old player that more than one fellow fan thought was too old even for the Giants to pick up, he's been a high point in the season so far.

after losing four straight, two to Arizona, two to the Nationals, i am very glad to see them leave, and also very happy to see Pittsburg and the Rockies come into town. might just gain a few of those games back...not to mention the series after that will be against the Astros, who aren't exactly having a "stellar" season so far (pun intended!).

so what is it with the baseball announcers? how hard can it be to stop calling the Nationals the "Expos" several times a game? can't they see the big "Nationals" logos on all the players jerseys? or, are they all throwing back shots and beers in the broadcast booth when the cameras are off of them? who knows. i just wish they'd pay more attention and get it right.

so, going into tomorrow's (actually tonight's) game, the Giants are back at .500. nothing like a losing streak right on the heels of a winning streak to dampen the enthusiasm, but, as a true fan of my team, i'll piss and moan about how bad they might be doing at the time, but i'm not going to stop wearing the Orange and Black any time soon.

UPDATE

ZAP!

ow!...sorry!

Four In A Row!

yes, i am happy. thrilled, even.

this is the longest winning streak that the 'Ants have had all season. and, it wasn't against the Rockies.

starting pitcher Noah Lowry only lasted 4 1/3 innings, got knocked around a bit in the fifth, but the bullpen saved the day. dang near the whole bullpen was used, but in the end, it's only the "w" that counts.